2011-02-23 10:00:19 Oh my!! This may belong on a Mustard Seed/Talk page, but it's so funny this post should appear. After a LONG break, my husband and I thought about returning to Mustard Seed recently. I can say with 100% confidence that we will not in light of this very post. Many Davis business owners make tasteful replies to poor reviews, with an honest attempt to repair any damagage to their image, but this is certainly not one. I've joked about getting the Mustard Seed owners together with the owners of Raja's so perhaps some of their grace and hospitality will rub off. But really, it's a shame that I know a number of Davis folks who have really enjoyed the food at Mustard Seed, but cannot continue to support them based on what they've seen first person and read in reviews. Bummer. —AmLin
2011-03-03 13:57:55 Hate this place. Tried it a few times, and I will never go back. Food was alright, nothing you can't find elsewhere. And holy crap, the owner is probably one of the nastiest people I have ever encountered in my life. —septemberain
2011-03-17 20:57:20 Wow. I was just looking for a nice place to eat with my boyfriend tomorrow and I thought the menu for this place looked good (very decent prices for lunch). However, after reading the reviews, I am wary. The response from the owners pushed me over the edge. There's no way I'm going to frequent this place. Please think about how you present yourself to your customers. Your rude, abrasive, and frankly, crazy sounding response to that man's comment was completely off-putting. From these reviews, I know I'm not the only person who's probably too scared to give this place a shot based on other diners' impressions of the owners. Service makes a restaurant, and there are places in Davis I can go to where I know I won't have to listen to the owners screaming at the wait staff, or deal with them harassing me when I leave a comment about the service.
I live in an apartment complex so I may have the same IP address as someone else (I don't know how that stuff works). So, not a sock puppet, just fyi. —AbigaleMoody
2011-03-28 21:31:03 We were initially afraid to try the Mustard Seed after some of the comments. We had a very nice experience and meal. Wait staff was friendly and helpful. The food and wine were superb (especially the French Onion Soup and Pork Chop). —drdustin
2011-04-12 20:22:23 I just heard about this place today when they catered an event in the building I work at on campus. There were some extra sandwiches that they offered to us students, so I brought one home since it looked so delicious. Needless to say, I just ate it for dinner and it was just as amazing as it looked. Partway through one half of the sandwich though (a portobello mushroom one) I started chewing something VERY tough and realized it was paper (like from a paper wrapper) that was stuck in the sandwich. I thought that it was maybe something that just happens sometimes, but I don't know after reading this page. I was really excited to try this place (especially about maybe taking a date here) but after reading the reviews, knowing they hate students, and finding paper in my food, I can guarantee that I will NEVER visit this place. Too bad though, the food was really, really good. (consider them only for catering) —ElizabethWood
Elizabeth- Given the treatment of me by the owner, it probably sounds strange that I would urge you to try their food again. I have never been dissatisfied with the quality of the food there, and said that it's often better (and different) than my beloved Tucos. It sounds like you just had the bad luck of the draw. If you're scared off by the service issues talked about on this page, visit the Wednesday night market, where Paul is usually tossing up great salads. —ScottLay
2011-04-17 16:36:51 So basically like every other review—the food is GREAT! Maybe the best chicken caesar salad I have ever had and have never been disappointed with an entree. HOWEVER, my family have boycotted the place for the last few years based on the numerous experiences with the outright mean lady owner. After about the third "incident" we had enough and will never go back. This is not counting all the times she publicly screams at her employees for trivial mistakes. It's a shame because she is costing the place thousands and thousands of dollars... —mark333
2011-05-05 21:48:29 The food is good here. It's the only fancy place in town. Probably best for when having your parents come to town. —bobobb
2011-06-22 14:51:22 I love the Mustard Seed. The food is very nice. The service has always been good for me. Thankfully I have not had some of the issues I have read about here. I have lived here for years and I love Davis, but the amount of good restaurants are limited. I guess I am not as sensitive as some of you are. If the food is great, but I read some bad reviews someone else wrote of their experience, I would not stop going to or not try out a restaurant because of others experiences. —ashleyinthemist
2011-07-05 17:50:14 I had a delicious Salad to day for lunch. The service was impeccable. —Sherri
2011-07-12 16:41:06 You know, I love the food and ambience of the Mustard Seed. But, I am one of those that had servers cry on me on three different occassions. Granted that was almost two years ago because I haven't been back since. Maybe it has changed and I should give it another try in hopes that the care of the employees has changed. —LokiAbbi
2011-07-27 18:28:40 Nope, nothing has changed, nothing will change. I've had interactions with the management of this place on a couple of occasions, and won't be going back. My review at Yelp says it all. —JaneyLamont
2011-10-02 18:54:23 My wife and I went to Mustard Seed for the first time the other night. It was a very nice experience. The food was all pretty good. We shared the goat cheese frisse salad with the warm bacon dressing, which was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend it. For entrees, I had the prawns with sundried tomato and spinach risotto. For an upscale restaurant, I'd say it wasn't amazing. The dish was a bit underseasoned, and the prawns (which were huge) were a little bit undercooked. The texture of the risotto was fantastic, but it could've used a little more salt, pepper, and a stronger cheese or two melted in. The sundried tomatoes were the highlight of the dish; a few more of them might have been nice. Bekka had the duck dish with the huckleberry sauce and pureed sweet potatoes. Yum. The duck was very nicely cooked, and the huckleberry sauce was excellent. The veggies with it weren't all that exciting, but they were tasty enough—except for the puree, which was absolutely delicious.
Service was alright, not amazing. Everyone was very friendly, but it was a bit slow—from getting our bread (which comes with delicious olives) to food to getting the check to getting a new knife after the appetizer. The wine list was also a little sparse if you just want a glass.
We used a groupon, which made it very reasonably priced. In terms of overall value, I'd say I slightly prefer Seasons, and there are some better options in Sacramento, but I don't regret going, and I suspect I'll be back again. If you wan't a nice place for a date that's a bit cheaper than Osteria and you're Seasons'd out, it's worth a visit. —TomGarberson
